ACK Natural Cannabis Dispensary Reopens After 7-Month Closure

ACK Natural is back.

After being closed for more than seven months following the state Cannabis Control Commission raising an issue with its equipment and protocols related to mycotoxin testing, the ACK Natural cannabis dispensary on Spearhead Drive reopened for business last Friday.

Co-owner Mike Sullivan told the Current he was thrilled to finally have the facility back open to the public after it was shuttered by the state last year.

The state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) issued a quarantine order last October mandating a recall for ACK Natural products with "unverifiable mycotoxin test results."

ACK Natural partners Doug Leighton, Zach Harvey, and Sullivan are entering their fifth year of navigating the state’s licensing and regulatory gauntlet for cannabis dispensaries.

Just months after ACK Natural opened in July 2021, the state order came down. While the furloughed some employees, most staff members were kept on board and continued to be paid despite the situation, Sullivan said.

The multi-million, 13,000-square-foot ACK Natural building packs all of the dispensary’s operations into three floors, with the grow rooms below grade, retail operations on the first floor and the second floor designed for the laboratory and testing, along with hanging, curing, trimming and packaging.

All of the cannabis is grown hydroponically with no soil. The plants are based in rock wool—which is a combination of basalt and limestone that creates a cotton-candy-like substance. The entire environment is controlled—everything from temperature and humidity to the nutrients and water delivered to each plant—to ensure quality and prevent contamination. The walls are made of PVC material rather than drywall to prevent any mold from forming.